Here is BHRR's Veteran's slide story……

Here is a VIDEO of BHRR's Veteran on his way with me to his hv for his possible GD adoption yesterday!

On that note, BHRR's Veteran has been adopted!

I think Atlas would be very happy for his buddy. Another emotional day. Sean said his good-byes this AM before I left and I found it equally hard to say mine.
This boy has put on close to 45 pounds of muscle mass and weight; learned to trust and be playful plus happy and healthy since he was first rescued by ARC and coming to BHRR for this rehab journey.
As he was giving me kisses; I told him how darn proud I was of him; that he has changed and bettered so many lives by all of us having met him and knew him; said he was a gift and one that is to be cherished and I thanked him for being just him; helping to heal Atlas; for taking the other ARC babies under his care; for being one of the best obedience pupils ever and yup….could feel a tear or two brewing….I found it hard to tell him all I felt plus thought yet; I knew he knows for I tell him these things every day!
He was a wee bit worried at the end when it was getting close for me to leave and as we do with all our adoptions, had the home distract him and slipped quietly away…..
I know we shall receive updates and in time; I am sure that his new home will reveal themselves.
ARC thank you again for entrusting such a treasure to BHRR!

BHRR's Veteran is moving under a PENDING ADOPTED status! Will update his blog as we can.

BHRR's Veteran had his special date today! Another glorious weather day and my daughter and I drove to a beautiful conservation area in Kingston, ON to meet up with the winners of his special date! Below is a picture of this amazing couple with hearts like gold!!!

When we got home, in cleaning out the picnic basket; we found a donation for the BHRR animals tucked inside!!! It was an absolute pleasure meeting these two amazing folks and I could have spent hours just chatting!

BHRR's Veteran also was able to visit with a Great Pyr puppy! With all the dogs he saw today; he demonstrated no 'worry' signs of stress at any of them and during the times that I was there; he saw a Great Pyr pup, a Golden Retriever and a lovely black/tan Heinz 57! Apparenlty, there was a lab swimming and other dogs to that he showed only signs of wanting to play! I am proud of you BHRR's Veteran!!!! You are learning to trust more and more and more that all the dogs outside of BHRR are not going to hurt you! 🙂

He has put on 40+ pounds since his arrival to BHRR! LOOKING just FABU big boy! 🙂

Here is a blurb that they posted on our BHRR FB Page of their special date experience from today:

"Some days are just perfect. Everything just works out great….. today was one of those days. We had our date with Veteran. Perfect drive from Toronto to Kingston, Gwen picked the most amazing conservation area. We meet our handsome guy Veteran at the park, and FELL IN LOVE!!!!
Gwen and her great daughter are 2 of the most amazing people you can ever hope to meet. Veteran loves his mom and we had to distract him with treats so she could drive away. We went for a great hike through the trails and saw birds, turtles, swans, frogs you name it.
There was a couple of times my husband – had 10 bucks on me and the dog ending up in the lake. What a great explorer our veteran is. Every time Carl lagged behind Veteran would stop and wait. I was sure this was a sign of bonding – carl is sure it is cause he had the treats in his pocket.
After about an hour walk – we stopped and had lunch… no wait a feast !!!!! Gwen gave us a beautiful real wicker picnic basket – stuffed to the top with lunch. Fruit, sandwiches, chocolate, cheese, crackers, chips, …. the list goes on.
We ate lunch by the lake – snuck a few bits of turkey to Veteran (don’t tell). Never have I seen a dog take his treats so gentle.. so gentle. I have a lab and her idea of gentle is only eating 1 of your fingers. Veteran took the tiniest crumb so softly.
It is absolutely hilarious when you turn around and his head is resting on the picnic table and you notice that he actually has to bend down to do it.
Veteran is so tall you don’t even have to bend to pet him when you are walking. On the walks he kept rubbing his head on my leg. I kept having to stop and hug him and give him scratches. He likes a good chin scratch. When we stopped for pictures you can’t help but just maul him and hug him.
After lunch – we went for another hike on a different trail, with lots of stops for water and treats. Oh… and a poop that I was sure was done by a horse. No I am not kidding. We used 3 regular dog poop bags. It was the only thing Gwen didn’t warm us about.
After that it was time for a snooze under the tree to wait for Gwen. Oh…. there was a moment when we had him stuffed in the car – thinking of ways to make a run for the border with him.
Thank you Gwen for all you do. For taking all this time to bring these beautiful dogs to people like us – so we can enjoy them. I can’t tell you – how great this day has been because of you. We grinned like silly kids all the way home in the car."

May 13th, 2012 – DOESN'T a GD look great 'on' them! 😀
AND as tall as BHRR's Veteran is; they are a model tall family themselves!

BHRR's Veteran's HWT is negative! 🙂

BHRR's Veteran weighed 54.8 KGs(120.56 pounds) on Saturday February 18th, 2012. This means that he has put on 29.56 pounds since he first arrived to BHRR and though, he still has more to go; it is coming on nicely!

He had another play date on Saturday (same lovely folks as from December 31st) and went to a place called CocoMutts in Stittesville. I am going to have to head back myself for I have heard that he had a lovely time and that this place is a true gem! 🙂 AND apparently, BHRR's Veteran is a bit of a celebrity for several people recognized him and many marvelled at how well he is doing and wishing him the very best for the future.

To whomever comes along and is his right matched forever loving home; this boy has touched the souls of people all across the globe and the world is going to to want to know who is the lucky family! ARC wants to do a piece on BHRR's Veteran when he is adopted in their 'Furever Fridays' section. So, to those that are considering applying for him; do know; that you shall become equally 'public'. 🙂 SO many are following his blogs closely and as per our promise to each dog that crosses our doors; ONLY the right matched home shall be approved for him. We want successful adoptions and work hard to strive to keep each adoption that we do successful!

He is NOT going to be any person's 'status' symbol nor a guard dog. BHRR does not support homes of those types. He is going to be a very lucky homes most cherished addition to their family and we are committed to ensuring that this happens for him.

If I did not mention it already, BHRR's Veteran got along famously with the lab that was in the home when we did the hv recently PLUS on Saturday, he also met a senior Boxer during this play date(10 or 13 years of age….my memory eludes me right now on which one!) and I even saw a photo of all adorable they were!

He continues to do great with most dogs and there is still a dog here and there(a Senior Golden at KAH stressed him on Saturday yet his tail was wagging as he gave that big deep 'ol' woof) that worries him; yet with the proper introductions and integrations under calm and confident people plus surroudings; he is relaxing. He was fine with the Senior Greyhound at KAH and all the other dogs in the reception plus back area.

I was told just how well mannered plus obedient he was on this play date and that he still likes to SHOP! LOL

THANKS to his play date humans for purchasing him goodies plus a new dog leash! 🙂

I am attaching two photos below from his December 31st, 2012 play date at B&F in Kanata Centrum.

December 31st, 2011 Play Date with BHRR Volunteers
*photos courtesy of L. & A. Benson

BHRR's Veteran shall be having a play date on Saturday February 18th!

I brought him back to BHRR after only being at his temp foster one night for as we did not bring in the GD we had been contacted about(the mother of who owned the GD decided now to keep her; herself); we were able to bring BHRR's Veteran back to BHRR.

Below are three photos taken of our annual XMAS EVE Photo shoot at BHRR.

BHRR's Veteran & Sean – December 24th, 2011

The one thing that I need to update on BHRR's Veteran's blog is that he is EXCELLENT with older cats, yet the young, flighty, busy ones cause him to get a bit excited and has a desire to want to chase. He is learning! 😉

I dropped off BHRR's Veteran to his temp foster home tonight! He came with me to do a hv and then on my way home from there, I made a visit to leave him at his temp foster home.

This has enabled us to bring direct into BHRR; the GD tomorrow that we have been told is in really poor body condition and has had bloody diarrhea.

AND I can now state that BHRR's Veteran is good with cats. He showed very respectful behavour at the hv yet at his temp foster home, he did demonstrate that he wanted to do some chasing which his temp foster mom promptly 'checked' him and he promptly obeyed. 🙂

This blog is a LONG time in the making, I know! My priority is always to continue to be hands on with the dogs in need of BHRR and we have several right now in very big need and I do apologize that my blogs and photos take a 'back seat' during such times. 🙁

Re: BHRR's Veteran; he is doing great! His bff is BHRR's Goliath! A sweetheart that is also awaiting his own forever loving adoptive home still.

They will play so well together and have a lot of fun! He also loves playing with my bluez boyz and my mantle boy these days along with BHRR's Goliath and the 5 of them are a very close group of pals. 🙂

He had a great play date at the end of December and if I do receive any photos from that play date, I shall post some. 🙂

I am going to post three photos below from the community education and awareness event we did at B&F at the beginning of December for their Angel Tree and added quite a few more of those photos to his slideshow.

He is great with kids and his obedience has just come so naturally to him.

The only time I have ever seen him nervous was when we saw a native american walking out of Timmie's one day and by our car and I thought he might actually urinate, he was so worried. I just told him it was 'ok' and he settled down and we continued on our way through the drive through of the bank. Considering where he was taken from, understandable behavour and how I handled it was how he thus responded. He did belong to a drunk person when the 275 dogs were assisted last November by ARC in Quebec in the first nation community and he clearly has memories that still affect him. THIS is the only person I have ever seen him react to and his reaction was fear. Poor thing…..yet, onward and forward we went and he liked the treaties I gave him and the pat plus calming word and settled right back down; trusting that I would not let anything harm him.

His temperament is a very solid and stable one and he continues to reside in harmony with the dogs here and he continues to keep BHRR's Atlas going should BHRR's Atlas have a bad day or moment. GOSH! This dog is amazing!!!

He really is going to make a home a fantabulous addition with his affection, heart and love to give! NOT to mention how handsome of a silver merle GD he is!

December 2nd, 2011 – B&F Community Education & Public Awareness Event

BHRR's Veteran is NOW AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!!!

More later today with a blog update and photos! 🙂

BHRR's Veteran came with me to work today and had a re-weigh. I went back through his paperwork and his weight when he first arrived was barely 91 pounds.  The documentation in paperwork was a bit mixed up…..so, based upon today's weight of 53 KS(116.6 pounds); he has put on 25.6 pounds since he first arrived to BHRR!

Several made comments about how much weight he had put on between his arrival to BHRR and the begining of December and then between December 2nd and today.

He still needs more weight; another 10 or so and he had an AWESOME playdate today!!!

These were his final 'tests'; to see if he was 1) at a decent weight be placed up for adoption 2) a social play date test away from us to see how things went.

Things went great!!!

He will be placed up for adoption next week and we also microchipped him today.

He can go to a home that works pt, ft. flex hours, semi-retired, retires or works from home.

He LOVES all people and the only 'quirk' that he still has that has never been an issue here; is sometimes male black dogs worry him. We effectively correct and quickly/calmly re-assure and re-direct.

His one best friend here at BHRR; is BHRR's Goliath; a big black dog and we think that, because BHRR's Lincoln came into our home and these other black/dark dogs are here; BHRR's Goliath, the three GD black beauties, BHRR's Benjamin etc. and he was just very calmly integrated and also was not feeling the best. He just did not have any time to worry for he was busy getting healthy and then he made all these great friends.

This boy is a heart throb and say good-bye when it is his turn; is going to be a bittersweet moment! 🙂

The couple that took him for a play date today; took him to places like B&F and he apparently; decided that while it was great greeting all the people and sniffing the dogs(played with a small shih for a bit); what he MOST enjoyed was going shopping!!! He came back to KAH with a sizeable doggie bag from not only the treaties the kind people at the store sent his way; but what he had also 'helped' himself too! OMG! THE wee ham!!!

I can well imagine the total glee he had walking in and thinking it was heaven and meant ALL for him! HA! HA!

I cannot thank them enough for taking him on this play date and they have asked to take him again in a few weeks; which if he is not adopted by then; is only going to continue to enrich and balance him out more. 🙂

BHRR's Atlas really missed him though…he was very sad all day when he was gone. A bit depressed actually. Their relationship is truly fascinating…..

We are expecting some lovely photos of his play date and shall post some when they come our way. I also have the ones from his continuing education & public awareness op that was done at B&F Barrhaven in early December plus the traditional XMAS eve ones that I still need to post, so lots to post!!! 🙂

People just fall in love with him whereever he goes!!! The one note I want to make is that while I was in the car to go through the drive-through banking on my way home; a native american in hunting attire and lowered hat; walked our way and BHRR's Veteran became quite worried and stressed and nervous. I quickly corrected/assured and passively ignored and while his body still remained a bit tense, he was less on the alert and stopped his very low deep barks. The voice on this boy is HUGE! Just massive and when he and BHRR's Goliath get to playing, one would think that the house would come down with their vocal skills or that they were set out to kill each other!!!

It is just his play style as many Danes can be!!! 🙂

BHRR's Veteran is going to be having a special treat on December 31st, 2011 for  few hours! HE is going on his first ever PLAY DATE! WAHOO!

I am so excited for him!!! 🙂 AND for the lovely couple going to be spending some special time with him. 🙂

BHRR's Veteran is DOING amazing!! Below are two photos; one taken after he was here for one week and one taken on November 27th, after he had been here for two weeks.

He is soooooooooooooo affectionate, becoming more confident and playful and as more time goes by, he is becoming 'younger' and younger. I would say that he is closer to 2 years than anything at this time. It is almost as if through time, he is shedding the weight of much worry from his back and shoulders; as cheesy as that may sound.

HE just loves my 16 month old GD Sir Maestro and he is soooooooooooo free with his kisses. He almost will 'hug' you with his head on your shoulder.

His obedience is coming along very nicely. I truly can not get over how gentle he is about taking treats. For a dog so starved and neglected, he is very gentle about taking treats from you and if something falls on the floor, he does not resource.

He has been fully integrated with everyone here other than BHRR's Atlas and they tend to worry each other still. AND he loves to try and 'push' BHRR's Atlas's buttons, knowing that BHRR's Atlas is not so fond of him either. They are soooooooooooo much better around each other yet it still comes across that there is some form of 'history' between them. They sleep in crates near each other, they eat in their crates near each other without any issues yet if one makes any sounds even remotely that could be misconstrued as being anything negative; then the other grumps back. AND BHRR's Veteran LOVES to go up to BHRR's Atlas' crate and 'tease' him which sets off BHRR's Atlas.

BHRR's Veteran has a very deep sound to him and if one did not know him better, one would think that he might be growling but he is all typical GD noises.

He is learning about toys and gosh, rope toys delight him to know end or things that he can toss. The playbows that he makes is so heartwarming.

He still does not quite understand about many things and you have to be careful of flightly movements or hands that come from above wtih items in hand.

I am looking forward in getting a new weight on him yet I do believe that in about three weeks time(our mandate is to keep all animals at BHRR for at least 5 weeks); before placing them up for adoption so that we can really get to know them and learn what type of home is in their best interest.

BHRR's Veteran is just so grateful for the love and attention he is getting and in a way that makes me sad FOR he should have been getting that all along yet that was not what his past held for him.

We are attending a humane education event on Saturday for a few hours and I am thinking of bringing BHRR's Veteran with me. I will see how the rest of this week goes.

BHRR's Veteran had the BEST time at our recent BHRR 'EXPERIENCE' Mini Open House. It was so wonderful for people to see how far he has come in such a short time! He is a very special boy all unto himself and he is going to make his right matched home a most wonderful addition! We do feel that he should go to a home with at least one other right matched personality fit dog, someone experienced with Great Danes is great yet not mandatory; a home that is going to continue to enrich him and be there for him and not only give him love but structure, guidance and consistency with a very patient hand.

BHRR's Veteran November 20th & BHRR's Veteran November 27th, 2011*He loves Sean's earring and will gently nibble it!
 

NOTE: BHRR's Veteran was being 'known' as 'Kingston' for the short time he was under the expert care of ARC. We changed his name for a couple of reasons – one; we already had a 'Kingston' in our own home. Two; this was around Rememberance Day and that BHRR's Veteran has gone through his own battles/war and bears the scars of his 'time' in the trenches. This could not have been a more perfect choice for him!

BHRR's Veteran had a good night.

He has not made a peep in respect to growling, lunging or barking at BHRR's Atlas nor any other dog.

He is eating well yet is now on antibiotics for his neuter incision is slightly infected. I will always remember fondly getting the call from one of the wonderful Volunteers who went to pick him up saying that he and BHRR's Atlas had not yet been neutered. I mentioned that what often can happen is that there is a lot of post-op swelling and the dogs can look very well endowed afterwards. Well, BHRR's Veteran is definitely very swollen and several of his sutures have let go and I am sure that he has done some liking of the area too.

So, he is a 'cone' head and on antibiotics right now. He is taking it all in stride.

In the daylight of Monday, I could see him so much better and his hair is so dry and so lacking in oils. He is missing a lot of hair in many areas too. He needs a bath plus a nail trim and just as with BHRR's Atlas we shall get there.

Just as with BHRR's Atlas, he has had four walkabouts on Monday on his own and has done well. He is weak yet not as weak as BHRR's Atlas and his mental plus emotional state is also better. He tends to not have as much of an 'exhaustion' rest as BHRR's Atlas does.

I feel that he is much closer to 2.5-3 years and am giving things the benefit that as life has treated him so unkindly that he might not even be a bit older. ON the other hand, he could well be closer to 2 and due to it being such a hard life, he looks older. So, we are officially having him listed as 2.5 years of age for now.

For those that have expressed an interest in him, he is not going anywhere for a very long time. We are on his schedule and when/if he is ready to be adopted, he will then be done so. I cannot say for sure that it will be in a month or two months or….or…

He just arrived to BHRR. We are still getting to know him and learning how to best give him what he needs and build him up emotionally and physically. These things cannot be rushed and we won't let them be rushed.

I know that as a 'survivor' this dog is going to have personality and inner strength so when that honeymoon period is over, I am sooooooooo looking forward to experiencing and learning about who is really is inside and how his life experiences have shaped him and yes, even how his genetics will have shaped him to make him 'who' he is today.

Just as with BHRR's Atlas he often can be found in a tight ball with his back to the outside of his crate. If you are with him, he will lay a different way and watch you. He wags his tail more than BHRR's Atlas yet is also quite submissive in many ways.

Below are two photos taken of him. They honestly do not really show how badly his ribs, hips and spine show. He will need a good 35-40 pounds of muscle mass and weight on him.

He is sleeping on a pile of blankets right now and thanks to the generous heart of a special angel an XXL Kuranda bed is headed his way! We shall pile dog beds and blankets on top of that for his joints, elbows and hips plus for pressure sores.

PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING HIM:
Monetary donations to do bloodwork including a heartworm test, to purchase flea/parasitic/hw preventative meds & food
*One can donate by PayPal or email transfer to gwen@birchhaven.org or by mailing a bank draft to 'Birch Haven Rescue & Rehabilitation Services(BHRR) and mailed to:

Birch Haven Rescue & Rehabilitation Services
c/o Gwendilin Boers
2425 Totem Ranch Road West
RR#1 Oxford Station, Ontario
K0G 1T0

He now has a file set-up at Kanata Animal Hospital (613) 836-2848 and people can donate to the 'Birch Haven Rescue & Rehabilitation Services' account for him under 'Veteran'

BHRR's Veteran – November 13th, 2011

BHRR's Veteran has settled in beautifully. HE has made not one peep other than a few groans to let us know that he had to go outside. He has not growled, barked or lunged at any of the dogs. He shall not be integrated for some time to be sure that he is not contagious in addition to how he is in a weakened state.

In the daylight, we shall get some good body shots of him yet wanted to clarify to those wondering, he is not a Harlequin yet a silver merle. This is often a colour that bybers promote as 'rare' and 'unique' yet it can come with its share of medical issues including deafness and skin problems.

He was fed a half ration for supper and had a good bowl full of water to drink. His crate is beside one other dog and across from BHRR's Riley.

We have begun a de-worming protocol with him and he shall receive his next Multi Advantage on Tuesday November 22nd and then another one on December 22nd.

His elbows are so red and hot and his coat is very dull and coarse. We shall begin putting raw eggs with shells plus plain yogurt into his meals.

BHRR's Veteran is VERY friendly. He is a bit unsure as to how other people are going to react to him yet my initial assessment is a good stable temperament. We shall see what happens when the honeymoon period ends.

For those looking for wish list items for BHRR's Veteran; here are things that he most needs right now:

1) Costco Dog beds or a Kuranda (XXL) bed  to call his own

2) He needs blankets for cushion. His hair is very thin and nonexistent in places plus he is almost literally a rack of skin/bones.

3) He needs a collar 26" and a leash

4) He will need a winter coat

5) He needs 24" Rawhide bones or Smoked Dino Bones or Smoked Knuckle bones

6) Monetary donations to do bloodwork including a heartworm test, to purchase flea/parasitic/hw preventative meds & food
*One can donate by PayPal or email transfer to gwen@birchhaven.org or by mailing a bank draft*

He needs about another 40 pounds of weight and muscle mass. The wasting in his hind end is really tragic. Not sure if he has spent quite a bit time tethered for this to be the cause of such wasting, that and the clear lack of proper nutrition.

It is really hard right now to pin down his age as life has treated him most unfairly. He seems like such a 'veteran' in many ways for sure….an 'old' soul yet I think at this time, around 15 months is a good guessestimate. We will see what he is like as he settles and rehabs.

His eyes…I know…back to eyes…BUT they almost haunt you with their sadness and pain revealed in those gorgeous eyes. 🙁

He needs a lot of TLC and patience, time and surprisingly enough, his leash manners are not that bad.

I was not exactly overjoyed to hear that people had him jumping up with his front legs on their shoulders for a number of reasons! 😉 This is not good on his rear end and that is a LOT of dog and he is going to be even more DOG once he is heatlhy and also finishes growing. We do not want Giant Dogs thinking they can jump up on people.

Below is a picture of him taken by his transporters. THANKS again to ARC for entrusting him to us; thanks to Jennifer and Brenda for the vote of confidence in us and thanks to Sherry & Charles for making the drive and meeting up with Sean so that he could bring back to BHRR.

Thanks to ARC for all that they do and for the crate they donated AND for being there for these animals in need. I am just so impressed by your efforts and honoured to be a part of your efforts!!

BHRR's Veteran – November 13th, 2011 -enroute to BHRR
*photo courtesy of C. Barr

What we know to date on the Great Dane – Male, now neutered, body condition given 3/10, sweet/gentle tempered to all to date yet did bark/lunge at the Saint when loading up – could be stress – not overly worried at this time, mole on back biopsied – benign, skin scraped for possible mange(results inconclusive), alopecia areata, vaccinated on Advantage Multi and weight given as 50 KS(110 pounds) and age believe to be about 12-15 months.

We have been passed along the info. that he was once owned by a man and authorities needed to step in to assure the o/s as his body condition and state is so poor. He most likely would not have survived another winter.

BHRR's Veteran – November 7th, 2011 with ARC Hero Karla & November with ARC Hero Patty